Pentecost 4

Sermon for Messiah Lutheran Church

The Reverend Martha Frances

Year B, Pentecost 4, Proper 8

28 June 2009

Text: Mark 5: 21-43

Other Readings: 2 Samuel 1: 1, 17-27; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 8: 7-15

Thank you so much for welcoming me to Messiah this morning as your preacher. Pastor Liz is preaching & celebrating today at Hope Episcopal in Oak Forest where I am the rector. As you may know, we belong to a group which encourages learning, mutual respect & sharing among religious communities, & I feel privileged today to worship with you.

Today, we explore 2 stories about women whom Jesus restores to life & health. I am very grateful our revised common lectionary includes both these stories for the first time; Mark wrote them together, Jesus may have even performed these miracles together, & we have much to learn from considering them side by side. Mark often embeds one story in another in his Gospel with each event teaching us about the other.

The first verse tells us Jesus has again crossed the lake to the other side, so we are back in Jewish territory. A synagogue leader named Jairus approaches Jesus in desperation because his 12-year-old daughter is ill to the point of death. Having heard of this healer Jesus, having perhaps heard him speak in the synagogue or out in the countryside, Jairus must know Jesus is controversial to the Jewish establishment, but he is frantic. He doesn't care about his reputation as long as his daughter is saved. So he approaches Jesus, falls at his feet, & begs Jesus to come heal his daughter. Jesus agrees to accompany Jairus & starts immediately. As happens wherever Jesus travels, a large crowd accompanies them. Their urgency is like an ambulance traveling with sirens & lights, full speed ahead, so we are not prepared when Jesus stops to ask who has touched him.

Who, indeed, has touched Jesus? The disciples think his question ridiculous. Jesus draws a crowd wherever he goes, & dozens have brushed up against him, so why does he ask who in particular has touched him? This woman at the opposite end of the social spectrum from Jairus, she whom one writer has called "audacious" but whose name we never know, has been bleeding for 12 years, the whole length of Jairus' daughter's life. She must have been a woman of means, for she has spent her fortune on doctors trying to staunch the flow of blood.

Now any woman in today's world who has bled for 12 years would be pretty desperate to get adequate medical help, but to the Jews of Jesus' time, the problem was even more serious. Their taboo regarding blood made a person ritually unclean. Thus, this woman could not participate in synagogue worship, not even in the segregated women's section, & she was further separated from society. If a Jew touched the woman, he or she would also become unclean & therefore unfit for worship or for normal sexual relations. So clearly, this woman had been cut off from even familial contact for a dozen years—virtually an outcast. This woman, this nobody, is so desperate that she dares to reach out & touch Jesus' garment. In so doing, she makes the Jewish rabbi unclean also. She breaks the taboo.

And he catches her! She thinks her actions can be anonymous, that she'll just quietly reach out & touch his garment, be healed quietly, & go on her way. Her plan is going just as she had hoped, & miracle of miracles, when she touches Jesus' robe, her bleeding stops. But Jesus halts in the middle of the road to say, "Who touched my clothes?" No wonder the disciples think he's lost his mind! Can't you just imagine what Jairus is doing right now? Jairus probably says, "Who CARES who touched you? That's not important. What's crucial is that you get to my house in time to use your miraculous skills to heal my daughter!"

Jesus insists, over the objections of both Jairus & his disciples. He has felt power go out from himself, & he is interested in persons. He wants to know who needs him. Can't you just imagine this poor woman's terror as she comes forward, the Scripture says in fear & trembling, & falls to her knees just as Jairus had done previously? She's been found out! What will they do to her?

Jesus' remarkable response to her is worth pondering, though I'm sure Jairus doesn't think so. Jesus affectionately calls her "Daughter" & tells her 3 things: "your faith has made you well," "go in peace," & "be healed of your disease." Don't you know Jairus is fit-to-be-tied by now? But Jesus has as much time as it takes to treat this woman as a person of worth. He tells her that it is because she's had the nerve to reach out & touch him, because she's believed in him, that she is healed. Her faith has saved her. He assures her future in society when he bids her go in peace. Can't you just imagine the true peace she will have now that she is healed? After 12 years, she can be a productive part of the community again. Finally, he declares this is not just a temporary cure. She is healed permanently. The constant bleeding is over; it's a thing of the past!

I've often wondered what happened to that gutsy woman. Did she become one of the women of means who provided food & clothing for Jesus & his disciples as he continued his itinerant ministry? Did she become a leader in the religious community, or was she still rejected because those in power were afraid of Jesus' powers? But we must catch up with Jairus.

Surely he's standing a few feet farther along the road, urging Jesus & his companions forward toward his house, frightened at what is happening with his daughter. Then he gets the devastating word: while Jesus has been dealing this pesky woman, messengers come to tell Jairus his little girl is dead. Jesus overhears the report & interrupts with "Do not fear; only believe." There's that believe word again. Jesus tells Jairus he only has to believe. What on earth does this mean to a man whose daughter has just died? "Believe in what?" he might say. The suspense continues to heighten as they continue to Jairus' house. We're told that Jesus chooses only his 3 closest companions to accompany him—Peter, James, & John. He bypasses the professional mourners who must be really carrying on as they are paid to do, & rebuking them as he goes. Then he really draws a laugh when he insists the little girl is not dead but only sleeping. "Yeah, RIGHT!" they say.

Jesus, the 3 disciples, & the girl's parents enter her room. Jesus confronts another Jewish taboo when he touches the dead girl, making himself ritually unclean. He takes her by the hand & calls to her, "Talitha cum." Lo & behold, the girl gets up & walks about immediately.

Immediately is one of Mark's favorite words, & here it certainly contrasts with the interruptions Jesus has undergone thus far. The people who declared her dead are overcome with amazement. Jesus tells them not to tell anyone about what has happened. Then he has a very practical suggestion: "Give her something to eat." This young girl has had a trauma, & Jesus knows she needs nourishment. He looks after our down-to-earth physical human needs as well as our spiritual ones. At several of Jesus' resurrection appearances, he eats with his disciples. Eating is a sign of resurrection, a sign the body is fully human. Jesus doesn't just expect us to believe in him & let it go at that. He expects us to be of service to our neighbors, to reach out & touch someone ourselves. The Christian action we do is part of our praising God.

Now we know that death awaits us all, some sooner & others later. Both of these people have been healed of their physical infirmities & can make their way back into society. Jesus has restored both of these women to life that they may be life-givers.

Jesus tells them both that their faith (or the faith of the girl's father) is what has made them whole. Faith is a gift from God. Our desire for faith is important, but we cannot ourselves create faith. Mark uses the word "immediately" quite often, even here in this story, but faith doesn't spring full blown into our hearts. The development of faith is a process that grows in our hearts, first by seeing its necessity & desiring it. As we pray for others, we can also pray for the gift of faith to grow & develop within ourselves. Corporate prayer is undoubtedly important to you or you would not be here today. And how do we develop our personal prayer? We just DO it! The writer Jean Gill says to pray as you can, not as you can't, & my observation is that our prayer lives would expand greatly if we spent our energy praying instead of talking so much about it. The regular spiritual exercises of Holy Communion & study & fellowship with our community helps us develop our faith just as physical exercise strengthens our bodies. When we act on the faith we already have, especially as we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our reaching out to others, our faith expands & deepens. During the summer months, our gospel readings provide ample opportunities for us to review Jesus' words & actions to those surrounding him. May our faith be strengthened as we explore the gift of faith Jesus grants us.